Ice-can.



W. T. R'LHGUE.

m: cm.

AP?LIUATI-')N EILED AUG, 12. 3:113v 1 128 162 Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHBET l.

Inventor Witnesses X by l K Q Attorneys W. T. MQGUE.

HEB CAN,

APPLIUATKON NLRB AUKL LX 91 1,128,162, Patented Feb.9,1915.

OOOOOO Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'WILLIAM T. MCCUE, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PATRICK WALL, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

ICE-CAN.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

To all who/)2 it 221 an (tome/"n Be it known that I, .VILLIAA! T. McC-Un, a subject of the King of England, residing at Pittsburgh. in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful ice-Can (Uase of which the following is a specification.

This inv ention relates to cans of that type used in the manufacture of ice, and also relates to a method of producing the same.

Hcretofore. in constructing a can of this character, the walls have been first shaped and secured together after which the corners have been cut away at the bottom. The bot tom edge portions of the walls have then been folded upwardly between the cuts to form channels designed to receive depending flanges on the bottom of the can. Rivets have then been secured in the inter-fitting portions of the bottom and walls so as to hold them together and prevent leaking.

In practice it has been found that an ice can, when subjected to the usual rough handling, receives its greatest strains at its bottom corners, this being due to the fact that in dropping the heavy cans, they usu ally hit at their corners upon the floor. It has developed, furtherniore, that in cans such as herein described, the formation of corner cuts to permit folding of the bottom portions of the can walls, has greatly weakened the corners and, as a result, these corners soon break open and'the cans are therefore rendered unfit for further use in the manufacture of ice.

One of the objects of the present inven tion is to provide an improved can structure in which the bottom corner portions of the can walls are retained, instead of cut away, and are utilized as reinforcing means whereby inward bending of the corners of the can is yn'actt'cally prevented and the life of the can consequently prolonged.

A further object is to provide a can structure in which the bottom corner portions of the wall are retained instead of cut away so as thus to provide a continuous channel whereby the solder floated into the seam or the folds of the Walls and thus not only form a tight joint but also act as a tie to,

hold the can walls together at the seams and prevent distortion of the can. I I

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novl steps in the method of producing the can and in certain novel details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of the can. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the bottom of the can inverted and showing the reinforcing rib or fold in one corner thereof. Fig. 8- is a' perspective view of the outer side" of one corner portion of the can. Fig. 4 is a per- .spective view of the inner side of one corner portion of the can, the bottolnbeing removed and a portion of one. side of one of the plates used in producing the Walls of the can being also shown. Fig. 5" is a perspective view of a portionpf one side of one of the plates used in the formation of the can and which is adapted to lap the edge portion shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one end portion of the blank from which certain of the walls of the can are formed. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of theblank and showing one of the ribs struckfifrom the blank prior to folding the bottom edge portion of the blank, F'i'g. 8 is a perspective view of the bottom ofgitlle can. Fig. .9is a transverse section through V a can of slightly modified form.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a metal sheet preferably so proportioned as to form two wallsof a can so that two sheets are thus necessaryin" the production of the four walls, as shown in Fig. 1, although it is to be unde-rstood, that if desired, all four Walls of the can can be formed in a single sheet. The sheet 1 has one of its bottom corners cut away, as shown at 2 and the side edge is preferably cut away obliquely. as indicated at 3. The lines of the folds or bends of the sheet 1 have been indicated by dotted lines at 4 and 5, the'bend 5 being located the blank as indicated at 8 after which wardly turned portions 9.

the ribs 7 are produced in the bottom edge portion. of the blank. The blank. is then bent alon the lines 10 to produce the inthen beilt along the lines 4 and 5 so that the flange 6 will lap the neXt adjoining wall of the can and the lapping portions of the walls can be riveted together: l V hen the blank is bent in this manner a continuous channel is formed by the inturned portions 9.

Bottom 12 of the can is preferably formed in a single piece of metal the edge portions of which can be drawn downwardly to form a continuous unbroken flange 13 or said flange can be formed by welding together the ends of marginal flanges produced by cutting the blank from which the bottom is made. These flanges 13 are adapted to be inserted into the channel 11 after which the ribs? are pinched or squeezed together so as to cause the inturned portions 9 to fit close to the flanges 13. Openings are then 3 inched through the inturned portions 9, the flanges 13 and the lower portions of the walls of can]. and rivets 14 inserted thereinto. Upon the completion of this operation, the bottom of the can is dipped into molten solder and this solder will fill all interstices and as the channel 11 is continuous, it will be apparent that none of the molten solder will dra'in therefrom but, on the contrary, the solder will be retained until it becomes hard. It will be seen that the continuous flange 18 on the bottom serves to tie the sheets 1 together at their laps or joints and, furthermore, the inwardly extending triangular ribs or Webs 7 l ikewise strengthen the corners of the can, as will be obvious.

In Fig. 9 a modified construction has been The blank is illustrated. In this figure a one piece bot tom 15 is used, the same having a depending continuous flange 10. lnstead, however, of turning the lower edge portions of the sheets 17 inwardly and upwardly, a separate strip or band 18 having an inwardly and up wardly turned portion 19 is employed, this band having its ends welded together and being placed around the lower edge portions of the sheets 17 so that said portions as well as the flange 16 of the bottom will extend into the channel 20 where they can be held by rivets 21. In all other respects the construction is the same as that hereinbefore described.

It will be seen that the reinforcing folds or ribs in the angles or corner portions of the can are substantially flat and intersect or bisect the angles in which they are located and occupy planes substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the can.

What is claimed is 1. An ice can having a solder retaining whereby said channel is rendered continuone, a can bottom, and flanges depending from said bottom and seated within said continuous channel, said bottom flanges being continuous.

2. An ice can having its walls bent inwardly and upwardly at their lower ends, said inwardly and upwardly bent portions being folded together in the angles of the can to provide radially disposed inwardly extending triangular ribs, whereby said can is reinforced at its corners and a continuous solder retaining channel is provided between the walls and the upturned portions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM 'l. MCCUE.

Witnesses GEO. A. YOUNG, JAS. P. WAU. 

